An Army veteran is facing criminal charges in the UK. His crime? Praying outside an abortion business.
Adam Smith-Connor, a post-abortive father, is one of three pro-life advocates who has been fined or criminally charged recently for the “thought crime” of silent prayer near an abortion facility. A similar case involving Isabel Vaughan-Spruce prompted international outrage in December.
In January, Smith-Connor was praying near an abortion facility in Bournemouth when community safety officers questioned him about his activities, according to the report.
A video of their interaction, shared by Alliance Defending Freedom, shows one officer telling Smith-Connor that he is allowed to pray silently in public places.
“This is England, and it’s a public place and you’re entitled to do that,” the officer says in the video.
Later, however, the local city council fined Smith-Connor anyway, allegedly for violating a new city Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The ordinance, which passed in October, prohibits prayer, counseling and other actions of “approval/disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means,” according to Christian Today.
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Now, Smith-Connor faces criminal charges.
ADF, which is representing Smith-Connor, said the charges “come as a surprise” after Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council refrained from pursuing prosecution within the statutory time-limit. ADF says that police also previously informed Smith-Connor that he was not breaking the law.
His first hearing will take place at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court on 9 August, where a court date will be set for his trial. He is expected to enter a plea of ‘not guilty’ at the hearing.
Commenting on news of his prosecution, Smith-Connor said, “Nobody should be prosecuted for silent prayer. It is unfathomable that in an apparently free society, I am being criminally charged on the basis of what I expressed silently, in the privacy of my own mind.
“I served for 20 years in the army reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon. I continue that spirit of service as a health care professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thought crimes are now being prosecuted in the UK.”
His legal counsel, Jeremiah Igunnubole of ADF UK, said the case “has no place in a country with a historical and proud commitment to the rule of law”.
“In permitting the prosecution of silent prayer, we are sailing into dangerous waters regarding human rights protections in the UK,” he said.
“Censorship zones are inherently wrong and engender unhelpful legal confusion regarding the right to free thought. Both domestic and international law have long established freedom of thought as an absolute right that must not ever be interfered with by the state.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom UK, said the only reason the Army veteran was punished is because he prayed for unborn babies and mothers to be spared from abortion.
“Were another person engaged in silent thought about another issue, such as climate change, within the PSPO censorship zone, then the Council officials would not have required them to leave,” Igunnubole said. “Adam was discriminated against in comparison to another person in an analogous situation based on his core faith-based beliefs.”
“The criminalisation of these volunteers should be a wake-up call to all those who value freedom of expression – even freedom of thought – no matter their views on abortion,” he said.
The crackdown on free speech in England is causing alarm worldwide. In December, a video showing Vaughan-Spruce’s arrest for silently praying outside an abortion facility in Birmingham went viral, attracting millions of views.
Ignoring the outrage, however, Parliament voted in March to create censorship zones outside abortion facilities all across England and Wales. MPs also rejected an amendment that would have specified that silent prayer and consensual conversations are allowed.
In Smith-Connor’s case, he knows all too well the pain and regret of abortion. He said he went to the abortion facility in January to pray for his son who was aborted more than 20 years ago. He said he also prays for mothers, fathers and unborn babies to be spared from abortion.
“It’s unthinkable that I was issued a penalty simply for praying about my own experience of abortion – having paid for my ex-girlfriend to have one – and my son, Jacob, whom I lost. The decision I made all those years ago now grieves me deeply,” he said.
